2.28.2011

This weekend I hit up my favorite bookstore McKays. First, let me tell you about this place. When I first walked in this bookstore it was like a literary orgasm. Imgine a warehouse sized room with shelves and shelves of books plus movies, cd, video games. I was more interested in the books myself, my husband loves their video game collection. Anyways, the books, they have any and every book you can think of. You can take books that you have finished reading and get cash for them or store credit. You don't get much for selling your books though. They also have bargain sections where you won't pay more the $1.00 for a book. $1.00! When you are on a serious budget (like me) a $1.00 book is the best thing ever. I have a hard time walking away from a $1.00 book. I can't order a book from Amazon.com or buy one from Borders until I check McKays first. I usually go there twice a month, sometimes every weekend. This Saturday I had to go.

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﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿I finally got the first book of the Vampire Academy series. I have heard only good things about this series so I can wait to get started. I never heard of Doppelganger before. I read the back and it seemed interesting plus it was only $0.25. How could I not give it a chance. $0.25! I had to get Beautiful Darkness and have it ready. I'm impatient when it comes to certain things like book sequels and movie sequels, I need to be able to end one and pick up the other right away. Especially if the book is good. I had to get Cleopatra's Daughter. I'm interested in anything having to do with Cleopatra and Egypt. Slight obsession.

Anyhoo, I have a question for mothers. Is it wrong to use reading as a punishment? First, a little background. My son doesn't like to read. His reading level was low the beginning of the year so I've been making him read a hour a night and now he is on his grade level (4th grade). So he got in trouble for acting out in class and was grounded for the weekend. He couldn't watch TV or go outside and play. All he could do was read and do worksheets. I bought him Diary of a Wimpy Kid and he had to give me a book report by Sunday night, which he did. However, I wonder if I'm giving the wrong message. I want him to enjoy reading, to get into the books but since I know he doesn't like to read it is easy to make him go read a book instead of watch TV. So what do you think? Am I going to make my son hate reading? I hope not.

2.25.2011

My favorite show right now is Vampire Diaries (and not just because I have a huge crush on Ian Somerhalder :) I'm a little upset about last night being the last new episode until April 7th. That's a long time to wait. I haven't read the books yet but I would like too. I just know that this show surprises me every week. Something happens that shocks me. Like last night, the witch dude stabbing that boy in the neck with a beer bottle, totally unexpected. If you are not watching this show, you should.

On a sad note, last night my little kitty passed away. He was only about three years old. RIP Rain.

2.23.2011

At the end of their junior year, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend pulls a gun in the Commons, leaving six students and a teacher dead and many others wounded. Valerie is hit by a bullet in the leg trying to stop him, just before he ends his own life. Until that point, Valerie had no idea that the "hate list" that she and Nick created would be used to target victims in a vengeful shooting spree. For her, the list of tormentors was a way to ease the pain of being bullied and an outlet against the constant fighting between her parents. Although the police investigation reveals that Valerie had nothing to do with the actual shootings, many people in her community, including her parents, have a hard time believing that she is not at fault, too. With the help of a patient and insightful therapist, Valerie bravely returns to school after the summer to face the challenges before her. (from Amazon.com)

This book was really good. It was written from Valerie's perspective being the girlfriend of the high school shooter. Once I found out about this book I had to read it. Growing up in Denver, not too far from Littleton, I took the whole Columbine thing real hard. For weeks it was all I could read about wanting to know every detail of how these two boys did this, how no one knew what they were planning. This book gives a little insight into how that could happen. However, this book isn't as much about the school shooter as it is about Valerie and her recovery afterwards. I wanted more though, I wanted to know more about the boy who did the shooting, more about the actual Hate List. That information was lacking. There are a few flashback moments where Valerie talks about her boyfriend and their normal relationship and the bullies, still I wanted more. It is a great book in the aspect of her struggle with her feelings about loving this boy and hating what he did. The book was a realistic protrayal of life a family dealing with life after a tragedy, a tragedy that the main character was involved in and the effect it had on her family. I'm not going to say this is a must read for every teenager and parent alike, isn't not, but it is a good book about overcoming tragedy.

If you are a fan of Science Fiction what is your favorite book? If you haven't read Science Fiction before...any inkling to? Anything catch your eye?

I've never been a fan of science fiction. I could never really get into it. I tried once though. My dad had a copy of Fahrenheit 451. I started reading it but didn't finish. I was young at the time and only into urban fiction. I wasn't even into paranormal fiction at that time plus it wasn't as big as it is now. Maybe I will try to read it again now that my tastes have changed and matured.

2.15.2011

I finished The Hate List last night. Very good book BTW, I'll do a review.

Now I have two books to choose from to start reading. I can't read more than one book at a time. I know some people are able to do that. I'm not one of those people. I get wrapped up in one story. Anyways, I need help. What should I read?

Dark Lover is part of a series so if I read this one, I'm sure I'll probably want to go on to the next on and so on and so forth. Or,

I could read Beautiful Creatures which only has one other book following it. ﻿Hmm, decisions, decisions. If anyone has read either or both books, give me some advice. Which one should I read?

With her father imprisoned, 15-year-old Meredith thinks she could live out her high-school days safely, but when he is released early for good behavior, her security is shattered. A popular youth baseball coach, her father has abused Mer as well as other boys and girls. With strict orders that he not be left alone with his daughter, he is returned to the condo complex where she and her mother live. In contrast to Mer's terror, her mother is giddy with delight at his return, and together the reunited couple plans to conceive another child. Yet in the shadows and stillness, Mer's nightmare begins anew.(from Amazon.com)

2.11.2011

Friday's Dare: Find a song that reminds you of a book. Tell us about the book and show us the video in a blog post.

Near to You by A Fine Frenzy is the best song after Bianca and Lucas are separated. She's a vampire, he is a vampire hunter but they are both so in love with each other. This song is perfect for when she is in her room at Evernight looking up at the painting thinking about him. Plus its just a great song. It belongs on a soundtrack!

After the death of their parents, twins Alexander and Selene and younger brother Ptolemy are in a dangerous position, left to the mercy of their father's greatest rival, Octavian Caesar. However, Caesar does not kill them as expected, but takes the trio to Rome to be paraded as part of his triumphant return and to demonstrate his solidified power. As the twins adapt to life in Rome in the inner circle of Caesar's family, they grow into adulthood ensconced in a web of secrecy, intrigue and constant danger. Told from Selene's perspective, the tale draws readers into the fascinating world of ancient Rome and into the court of Rome's first and most famous emperor.

After two years on the run, best friends Rose, half-human/half-vampire, and Lissa, a mortal vampire princess, are caught and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy. Up until then, Rose had kept Lissa safe from her enemies; school, however, brings both girls additional challenges and responsibilities. How they handle peer pressure, nasty gossip, new relationships, and anonymous threats may mean life or death. Likable narrator Rose hides doubts about her friend behind a tough exterior; orphan Lissa, while coping with difficult emotional issues such as depression and survivor's guilt, uses her emerging gifts for good.

When Clay Jenson plays the casette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah's voice (italicized) and Clay's thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions. Hannah, herself, is not free from guilt, her own inaction having played a part in an accidental auto death and a rape.

In this remarkable account of the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School shooting, journalist Cullen not only dispels several of the prevailing myths about the event but tackles the hardest question of all: why did it happen? Drawing on extensive interviews, police reports and his own reporting, Cullen meticulously pieces together what happened when 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold killed 13 people before turning their guns on themselves. The media spin was that specific students, namely jocks, were targeted and that Dylan and Eric were members of the Trench Coat Mafia. According to Cullen, they lived apparently normal lives, but under the surface lay an angry, erratic depressive (Klebold) and a sadistic psychopath (Harris), together forming a combustible pair. They planned the massacre for a year, outlining their intentions for massive carnage in extensive journals and video diaries. Cullen expertly balances the psychological analysis—enhanced by several of the nation's leading experts on psychopathology—with an examination of the shooting's effects on survivors, victims' families and the Columbine community.

I will probably order Thirteen Reasons Why first because I read chapter one online and I really got into it. I think it is going to be a good book. I'm always looking for more to read. Any suggestions?

2.10.2011

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

"A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left."

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

"I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love."

2.09.2011

If you were to write an Urban Fantasy novel, where would the setting be?
I am actually working on an urban fantasy novel now and my setting is Chicago. Why Chicago? I don't know other than I didn't want to use New York because it seems like EVERYTHING is set in NY.